Hospitals ‘must treat dying patients with more compassion’

Hospitals need to introduce major changes in the way they cater for dying patients and their families, according to the Irish Hospice Foundation.

The organisation said improved skills to manage symptoms and pain, better support for families and staff, and more space for people to die in dignity were needed in Irish hospitals.

More than 15,000 people die in Irish hospitals every year and the Hospice Foundation said these people deserved to be treated with more compassion.